Full of resplendent parks and gardens, Baltimore has a long history of embracing local flora and greenery. Through the centuries, Baltimore has been at the forefront of park design, playgrounds, and green spaces, counting the Olmsted brothers among their visionary architects. In fact, the city of Baltimore has been internationally recognized for its development and protection of its green spaces. Baltimore's Historic Parks and Gardens explores the history of those spaces, including the vast and ancient Druid Hill Park, the gorgeous acreage of Cylburn Arboretum, and Mt. Vernon's beautiful floral presentation.
Patterson Park is an urban oasis, a sacred green space surrounded by red brick row homes and generations of diverse cultures and neighborhoods. For almost 180 years, Baltimoreans have picnicked under tall tulip poplars, strolled the deeply curved paths, and enjoyed the rich architectural design of this 137-acre East Baltimore park. Patterson Park is not simply beautiful landscapes, scenic vistas, and tree-lined pathways. This refuge is also an urban emerald with many facets. Patterson Park has served as the defenses of Baltimore during the War of 1812, a Civil War surgical hospital, and a picturesque home to herons, wood ducks, and painted turtles. Patterson Park has a free outdoor gym with tennis courts, volleyball nets, and an ice rink, as well as paths for relaxing walks around the boat lake. Since its beginnings in 1827, Patterson Park has been a prime example of how urban open spaces can complete and unify diverse communities.
Druid Hill Park lies at the hears of Baltimore and made history as one of the first public parks in America. This beautifully illustrated history tells the story of Druid Hill from the seventeenth century until today, and celebrates this natural refuge for fun and relaxation in urban Baltimore.
Full of resplendent parks and gardens, Baltimore has a long history of embracing local flora and greenery. Through the centuries, Baltimore has been at the forefront of park design, playgrounds, and green spaces, counting the Olmsted brothers among their visionary architects. In fact, the city of Baltimore has been internationally recognized for its development and protection of its green spaces. Baltimore's Historic Parks and Gardens explores the history of those spaces, including the vast and ancient Druid Hill Park, the gorgeous acreage of Cylburn Arboretum, and Mt. Vernon's beautiful floral presentation.
Immerse yourself in the stunning flora and fauna, trails, ruins and other wonders the Patapsco Valley State Park provides. Patapsco Valley State Park is nestled in four Maryland counties - Carroll, Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel. From its humble beginnings in 1907 as a 43-acre forest reserve to its expansion to over 16,000 acres today, this hidden gem has become a refuge for wild animals and native vegetation and a retreat from suburban and city life. With its eight developed recreation areas and over 200 miles of trails, more than a million visitors annually explore this vast area rich with history. Visitors have discovered the park's National Historic Landmark, the Thomas Viaduct, which remains in use today with modern trains passing over the first multiple-arch stone railroad viaduct in the United States. Other marvels from the past include remains of 19th-century mills and mill towns, the Civilian Conservation Corps' Camp Tydings, and the popular and scenic swinging bridge. Visitors to the park today continue to experience the joy of the great outdoors like millions before them.
Glass House of Dreams celebrates the City of Baltimore's landmark Victorian glass palace, one of the surviving architectural treasures in historic Druid Hill Park. An extensive collection of original lithographic postcards illustrate the history of this 1888 botanical conservatory, the second oldest glass house in America. The book's author, Margaret Haviland Stansbury, is founder of the non-profit Baltimore Conservatory Association that worked with the City to bring this Victorian jewel back to life. The original Palm House featuring 175 glass windows, many of them curved, is once again packed with exotic flora from around the world. The real excitement of this book is a portfolio of stunning new photographs by David Simpson. Simpson's cutting-edge photographs not only capture the elegance of this architectural gem, but also present us with intimate images that portray the beauty of its individual plants and flowers. This book, celebrating the past, present and future of The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens, will be released in Fall 2010.
"Neither southern nor northern, Baltimore has charted its own course through the American experience. The spires of the nation's first cathedral rose into its sky, and the first blood of the Civil War fell on its streets. Here, enslaved Frederick Douglass toiled before fleeing to freedom and Billie Holiday learned to sing. Baltimore's clippers plied the seven seas, while its pioneering railroads opened the prairie West. The city that birthed "The Star-Spangled Banner" also gave us Babe Ruth and the bottle cap. This guide navigates nearly three hundred years of colorful history--from Johns Hopkins's earnest philanthropy to the raucous camp of John Waters and from modest row houses to the marbled mansions of the Gilded Age. Let local authors Brennen Jensen and Tom Chalkley introduce you to Mencken's "ancient and solid" city--]cBack cover.
This book presents the rich history of the old amusement parks and beach resorts frequented by Baltimoreans beginning in the 1870s and stretching into the late 20th century. Readers may recognize such popular amusement parks as Gwynn Oak, Carlin's, and Tolchester Beach, and will learn about some of the more obscure places like Frederick Road Park and Hollywood Park. Each of the major parks is documented here, complete with a detailed history of the sites they were built on, the creative owners behind the parks' inceptions, the individuals and companies who provided the rides and attractions, and, the people that happily traveled by boat, streetcar, train and automobile to reach their favorite park or resort.
Of the many types of historic landscapes that have become treasured open spaces in North America's dense urban fabric, the garden (or residential) square largely has been overlooked. Yet the garden square played an important role in the planning of Philadelphia, Savannah, Boston, and New York, several of America's major early cities. Boston's garden squares most closely resemble the squares of London in purpose and appearance. Intended as speculative real estate ventures, the London garden squares were distinguished by row houses and ornamental iron fences enclosing gardens planted with trees and grass. The gardens served as welcome patches of greenery for affluent residents who chose to live in relatively cramped quarters within the city. As such, gardens were the raison d'etre for this early form of urban design. Although garden squares pre-date well-documented municipal parks, the historical significance of these squares is not fully understood. In this remarkable book, Goodman tells the story of Boston's garden squares and offers her readers a fascinating glimpse of early urban planning. Goodman traces Charles Bulfinch's connection with these historic landscapes and compares them to their London prototypes. While Bostonians and others are familiar with Boston's iconic Louisburg Square on Beacon Hill, few people know that Boston's South End neighborhood boasts a group of eight garden squares. After discussing London squares and their effect on urban planning in several eastern seaboard cities, Goodman turns to Boston's three privately developed garden squares, all of which were located close to the original center of the city. She pays special attention to Louisburg Square, the only one that has survived. Focusing on the characteristic landscape features that define the gardens, Goodman also showcases the five of the eight publicly developed garden squares of the South End--Blackstone Square, Franklin Square, Chester Square, Union Park, and Worcester Square. Concluding with a chapter on the evolution and preservation of the garden squares of the South End, Goodman discusses private versus public ownership and access, maintenance, and preservation treatments--issues that provide practical information helpful in the management of historical as well as contemporary landscapes. She urges a combined effort of neighborhood groups and the public sector to maintain these squares. Otherwise, she warns, "the future of these historic garden squares will be in jeopardy."
